The Daily Change

CPC Co-chair Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) made clear he will oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits and vote against a deal that includes them.

Earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she would support President Obama’s proposed Social Security benefit cuts — even arguing that using the “chained CPI” would not be a benefit cutAi??after previously telling President Obama “that House Democrats will not vote for any trims to future benefits in Medicare or Social Security, even a tweak to the cost-of-living index,”Ai??according to her hometown paper.

A defiant Congressional Progressive Caucus ai??i?? which hasAi??75 MembersAi??in the House ai??i?? pushed back, releasing a statement declaring:

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) are standing up against a proposal to cut Social Security benefits by changing the way we calculate inflation…Tying Social Security to chained CPI is a benefit cut and members of the CPC will not vote for a deal that cuts the benefits that millions of Americans rely on.

This Progressive Caucus statement follows similarly bold statements from individual Caucus members in the preceding 36 hours. Some are below (emphasis added):

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), CPC co-chair:

“Chained CPI makes life harder for millions of retirees, weakens Social Security and doesnai??i??t reduce the deficit by a penny. Itai??i??s a Beltway fig leaf that I will never support, and I call on my colleagues to make their feelings known as soon as possible before this becomes yet another piece of conventional wisdom that makes things worse.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI):

“I will vote against any agreement that imposes cuts to already modest Social Security benefits and does not ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.”

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA):

“Reducing cost of living adjustments is a Social Security benefit cut. Any deal that cuts Social …

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) just released the following statement denouncing this policy, saying the proposal to cut benefits is “unacceptable” and that he will “oppose” it:

ai???Everyone has a grandparent, a friend or a neighbor who relies on the Social Security benefits they earned to pay for medical care, food and housing. A move towards chained CPI would be a long-term benefit cut for every single person who receives a Social Security check.
ai???The current average earned benefit for a 65 year old on Social Security is $17,134. Using chained CPI will result in a $6,000 loss for retirees in the first fifteen years of retirement and adds up to a $16,000 loss over twenty-five years. This change would be devastating to beneficiaries, especially widowed women, more than a third of whom rely on the program for 90% of their income and use every single dollar of the Social Security checks they’ve earned. This would require the most vulnerable Americans to dig further into their savings to fill the hole left by unnecessary and irresponsible cuts to Social Security.

ai???Reducing cost of living adjustments is a Social Security benefit cut. Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable and I will oppose it.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, …

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Earlier this week, President Obama offered a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

There has been an intense backlash among congressional Democrats, but two members of the Senate Democratic caucus — Joe Lieberman (CT) and Kent Conrad (ND) — have indicated that they would be supportive of this cut to Social Security benefits.

The two share one common trait — they’re both retiring. They do not have to face accountability to voters, and they both will have the option of taking lucrative lobbying jobs Ai??which will pad their retirements. Earlier this year, Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) office specifically refused to disclose any job negotiations he’s having for his post-Senate career.

As The Atlantic’s Molly Ball argues, Conrad and Lieberman’s retirements clear the path for a new class of Democratic Senators who are more progressive: “North Dakota’s old Democratic senator was the moderate Kent Conrad; its new Democratic senator, Heidi Heitkamp, campaigned on a platform of ending tax cuts for millionaires and protecting Social Security from cuts.” As she notes, “Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is out; Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, is in.”

Our polling in key swing states and President Obama’s home state of Illinois showed that voters overwhelmingly opposed cuts to Social Security benefits, and that they support Elizabeth Warren’s “balanced approach” of cutting military spending and corporate welfare while making the rich pay their fair. Voters gave these new Members of Congress a progressive mandate.

One would only hope that Lieberman and Conrad do not want their final legacy in the Senate to be one of helping hurt America’s retirees and veterans.

We set up an ActBlue page …

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) just released the following statement denouncing this policy, saying he “staunchly” opposes it:

DEFAZIO: Throughout my time in Congress I have always fought to protect Social Security and Medicare from unfair ideologically based cuts. The fact the Social Security, which did not contribute to our fiscal troubles, is being discussed as part of the deficit negotiations is outrageous. I staunchly oppose the latest proposal to cut the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLAs) by using the ai???chained CPI.ai???Ai?? The current COLA formula already doesnai??i??t reflect the rising costs of medications, food, and other good that seniors buy. The chained CPI would only make the problem worse.Ai?? Using the chained CPI to calculate COLAs would cause the average senior to lose over $16,000 over 25 year retirement. Nearly 70 percent of Social Security beneficiaries depend on Social Security for at least half of their income. Social Security is the sole source of income for 15 percent of recipients . Asking these retirees on a fixed income to bear the brunt of reducing a deficit that they did not create is inappropriate and unacceptable.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click hereAi??to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad …

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) stated firmly that he would vote against any deal that has these sort of benefit cuts:

ai???After a lifetime of hard work, our seniors deserve to know that Social Security will be there to allow them to enjoy their retirement years with economic security and peace of mind.Ai?? By law, Social Security cannot contribute to the federal deficit. While we need to address its future solvency, cuts to Social Security benefits should not be a part of ai???fiscal cliffai??i?? negotiations.ai???

 

ai???I will vote against any agreement that imposes cuts to already modest Social Security benefits and does not ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.Ai?? As we continue to approach the January 1stAi??financial deadline, I urge our leaders to take Social Security off the table during negotiations and find a solution that works for the middle class.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click hereAi??to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

This morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined representatives fromAi??The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other veterans groups to denounce this proposal. Here’s an excerpt from a release about the event:

Leaders of The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veteransai??i?? organizations on Wednesday joined Sen. Bernie Sanders to denounce proposals to cut veteransai??i?? disability benefits as part of a year-end deal on deficits.

A member of the Senate Veteransai??i?? Affairs Committee and the Budget Committee, Sanders said there are better approaches to deficit reduction than slashing benefits for more than 3 million disabled veterans and their families.

ai???We must do deficit reduction, but not by cutting programs for people who lost arms, legs and eyes defending our country,ai??? Sanders said. ai???We must not balance the budget on the backs of men and women who already sacrificed for us in Iraq and Afghanistan.ai???

Sandersai??i?? point was echoed by the nationai??i??s leading veteransai??i?? organizations.

ai???The American Legion understands the need to restore fiscal discipline, but it should not be done by reneging on this countryai??i??s promises to its veterans who already have earned these benefits through their service to our country,ai??? James Koutz, the American Legion national commander, wrote in aAi??letterAi??to congressional leaders.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid …

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

The plan is drawing the ire of Democrats in Congress. Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD) released Ai??the following statement on these proposed cuts, calling them “fundamentally unfair”:

ai???I stand with my fellow CPC members in strongly opposing any move toward chained CPI that would greatly reduce the long-term benefits of every single Social Security recipient and their families. These are our family members, our friends and neighbors who worked hard, played by the rules, and paid their fair share.Ai?? Now the government must uphold its end of the deal and protect their Social Security benefits.

 

ai???It is fundamentally unfair to ask our most vulnerable citizens ai??i?? our elderly and our poor ai??i?? to shoulder the burden for our country; it is morally wrong and unacceptable.Ai?? We must do better.ai???

 

The Center for Economic Policy and Research estimates that, for the average worker retiring at age 65, a change to chained CPI would mean a cut of about $650 each year by age 75 and a cut of roughly $1,130 each year at age 85.

 

Calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index, or ai???CPI,ai??? is often referred to as a cost-of-living estimate. Chained CPI changes the formula used to calculate inflation by taking into account changes in spending patterns, not just the price of goods, over time.Ai?? This different calculation lowers the annual cost-of-living adjustment Social Security recipients receive therefore reducing their total benefits over time.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who …

Senator-elect Chris Murphy (D-CT)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

The plan is drawing the ire of Democrats in Congress. Senator-elect Chris Murphy (CT) said the plan is a “terrible idea,” joining several others in denouncing it, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) who quipped, “It doesn’t warm my heart”:

ai???I donai??i??t like it at all,ai??? said Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.).

ai???A terrible idea,ai??? said Rep. and Sen.-elect Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

ai???We donai??i??t like the chained CPI,ai??? said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.).

ai???We donai??i??t like it,ai??? said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). ai???Why are you hurting the vulnerable seniors?ai???

Any fiscal-cliff deal brokered between Boehner and Obama will need a significant amount of Democratic support to pass the House, because Tea Party lawmakers are expected to reject such an agreement.

Several Senate Democrats also hammered Obamaai??i??s chained CPI proposal Tuesday, with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) saying the provision would be ai???a problem for Democratsai???; Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) warning that heai??i??ll ai???fight hardai??? to keep Social Security out of the fiscal-cliff package; and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) saying the White House move ai???doesnai??i??t warm my heart.ai???

ai???I donai??i??t care if they spread it over a whole bunch of years. The whole understanding has been that we wouldnai??i??t do Social Security,ai??? Rockefeller said. ai???That was for later.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click …

Huffman with Sally Tanner, a prominent former member of the California State Assembly.

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

In the last day, Democratic Congressman-elect Mark Takano (CA) joined progressive organizations and Ai??Democratic Reps. Nadler (NY), Conyers (MI), Lee (CA), Johnson (GA), Edwards (MD),Ai??Schakowsky (IL), Grijalva (AZ), Rangel (NY), and Ellison (MN)Ai??andAi??Democratic Sens. Durbin (IL), Brown (OH), and Merkley (OR) in opposing this idea.Ai??This morning, newly-elected Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) made his thoughts clear in a statement to us:

ai???I do not support reducing Social Security benefits or raising the Medicare eligibility age, nor do I support giving ground on the upper income tax rate.Ai?? I will be disappointed if these items are part of a fiscal cliff deal.Ai?? Instead of targeting seniors and the poor while giving more tax concessions to those who donai??i??t need them, the House should simply vote on the bipartisan middle class tax cut already passed by the Senate, and then focus spending reductions on our over-sized military budget and cuts that do not hurt struggling families, like the huge subsidies for the oil industry.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that …

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Progressive Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) objects to this move, and released a statement to make clear that will not support such a deal:

ai???Social Security is one of the bedrocks of our middle class society and is an essential safety net for millions of American seniors and their families.Ai?? Millions and millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits for medical care, food, housing, and other essentials.Ai?? We cannot allow a move toward chained CPI that would result, over time, in substantial cuts in benefits.

ai???We must not force our senior citizens to dig further into their savings to fill the hole left by unnecessary and irresponsible cuts to Social Security.Ai?? It is unconscionable for Republicans to ask seniors and others who can least afford it to sacrifice even more in order to continue giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.Ai??Ai??I do not support any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand …

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told Congressional Quarterly (subscription only) that he doesn’t like the idea of the chained CPI “at all” and that his colleagues “overwhelmingly” agree with him:

Democrats sharply criticized the idea on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, but several said they hoped the White House could create a cushion to soften the impact on the neediest beneficiaries.

ai???I donai??i??t like it at all,ai??? said Sen.Ai??SherrodAi??Brown, D-Ohio, adding that his colleagues ai???overwhelminglyai??? agreed with him on the issue.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

In an interview with The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, Durbin said that we should take Social Security out of the fiscal negotiations:

In an interview with me this morning, Senator Dick Durbin, a top ally of the White House, told me he opposes including Chained CPI for Social Security in the final deal. He said it would be difficult for Democrats to support Chained CPI for Social Security if it ended up in the deal, though he said it was premature to say anything definitive about how they would vote.

ai???We ought to deal with Social Security in a separate conversation that is not part of deficit reduction,ai??? Durbin told me. ai???To do it at this stage is the wrong way to go.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Congressman-elect Mark Takano (D-CA)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Congressman-elect Mark Takano (D-CA) issued a statement this morning re-iterating his belief that he opposes any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits:

ai???As I’ve been preparing to come to Washington, I’ve kept a close eye on the ai???Fiscal Cliffai??i?? negotiations that are underway between President Obama and Speaker Boehner.

Recent reports have indicated that while Speaker Boehner has conceded that tax rates will increase for the wealthiest Americans, there is significant discussion about reforming key entitlement programs.

During my campaign, I told the voters that I would Ai??oppose any cuts or fundamental changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and I continue to stand by that. Ai??We shouldn’t be using a budgetary crisis, created by Republican obstructionism, to undermine the promise weai??i??ve made to our seniors. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of the America’s most vulnerable citizens.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits. Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Progressive Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) objects to this move, and pointed out on Twitter that it represents a definite benefit cut and that we cannot ask our seniors to accept it:

As even right-wing former president Ronald Reagan pointed out, Social Security doesn’t add a penny to the deficit — which makes it even more inappropriate that Congress is considering cutting it in deficit negotiations.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Progressive Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) objects to this move, and pointed out on Twitter that it represents a cut in benefits for seniors, disabled people, children, and veterans:

Edwards has been leading on this issue, and has been circulating a letter to President Obama calling on him to reject the chained CPI.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson (GA) pointed out on Twitter that Social Security doesn’t even add to the deficit and asked, “Why are we even talking about it?”

Here’s the answer: we shouldn’t be, and President Obama should back off this bad deal.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

On Twitter, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) appeared to reject this approach:

Additionally, here’s a full statement his office released:

ai???We had an election, and the voters sent a message to Congress to focus on jobs and fairness — not cutting benefits for people who have worked all their lives and are now making ends meet on fixed incomes. The formula we use to adjust cost-of-living changes for seniors needs to reflect the real costs they face, not the budgetary fantasies of Washington.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Vice President Joe Biden (D)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

This contradicts an Obama-Biden campaign pledge to not cut benefits for current beneficiaries.

In fact, in August, Vice President Biden actually explicitly told a group that there would “be no changes to Social Security”:

“Hey, by the way, let’s talk about Social Security,” Biden said after a diner at The Coffee Break Cafe in Stuart, VA expressed his relief that the Obama campaign wasn’t talking about changing the popular entitlement program.

“Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security,” Biden said, per a pool report. “I flat guarantee you.”

Obama and Biden should stand by their words on the campaign and back off all cuts to Social Security benefits.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement with regards to this possible cut:

Republicans are once again demanding benefit cuts to pay for tax cuts, and threatening to harm the economy unless they get their way.Ai?? House Speaker John Boehnerai??i??s recent ai???Plan Bai??? proposal would extend tax cuts for people earning between $250,000 and $1 million, at a cost of $400 billion. At the same time, Republicans are demanding to cut Social Security COLAs through the so-called ai???Chained CPI.ai??? We call on Congress to reject House Speaker Boehnerai??i??s proposal to extend tax cuts for people earning up to $1 million and support President Obamaai??i??s demand for at least $1.2 trillion in additional tax revenues. We further call on Congress to reject Republican hostage-taking and reject any cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare benefits, regardless of who proposes them.

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today.Ai??Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? Today, several major progressive organizations denounced this proposed deal and announced their strong opposition to it.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee:

“This proposed deal will cut Social Security benefits. Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable — and progressive organizations join with the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose it.”Ai??— Stephanie Taylor, Co-Founder, PCCC

MoveOn.org:

“MoveOn members overwhelmingly oppose cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, and they’ve made clear that they would see any fiscal agreement that cuts such benefits as a betrayal that sells out working and middle class families — whether the cuts come via a chained CPI, increased Medicare eligibility age, or in some other form. If such a deal were proposed by the President and Speaker, MoveOn members would expect every Senate and House DemocratAi??to do everything in their power to block it. Senate Majority Leader Reid would play a crucial role, as MoveOn members would count on him and other senators to remain true to their repeated promises to keep Social Security benefitsAi??off the table.” — MoveOn.org Executive Director Justin Ruben

Social Security Works:

“Almost every elected official just spent an entire election season saying they wouldn’t cut the benefits of those 55 and older. The truth is the chained CPI hits everyone’s benefits on day one. It hits the oldest of the old and disabled veterans the hardest. If it wasn’t being bandied about as being ‘on the table,’ I would guess that it was created as an office joke to see who could create the most noxious and offensive policy possible.” — Social Security Works Executive Director Alex Lawson

Credo Action:

“It would be a massive betrayal if the White House …

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? Today, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) spoke out against a plan like Obama’s that would offer only a tiny increase in taxes for the wealthy in exchange for cuts to Social Security benefits:

SCHAKOWSKY:Ai??Ai??Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today because I justAi??don’t get this discussion aboutAi??the fiscal cliff. Republicans are saying that inAi??order to raise taxes on theAi??very wealthiest Americans andAi??actually buy historically smallAi??– by historically smallAi??amount, that the price that hasAi??to be paid is to ask theAi??poorest adult Americans to payAi??more. That is to reduce socialAi??security and medicare benefits. I don’t get the equivalencyAi??that is being asked for. The richest to pay a bit moreAi??and the price to be that theAi??poor, the poorest have to payAi??more. Seniors in this country have aAi??median income of just $22,000 aAi??year. That means half of all seniorsAi??are below that. They also spend an averageAi??right now of $4,500 a year onAi??health care costs out of theirAi??own pockets. And so I think that we have toAi??change the debate here andAi??there’s a parable in the BibleAi??that makes this point.Ai??when you ask a person with oneAi??coat to give up that coat, it’sAi??not the same as asking someoneAi??with 10 coats to donate one toAi??the cause. I yield back.

Watch it:

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? Today, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), rejected the deal, saying that it’s “unacceptable” to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits:

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose this bad deal.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? Today,Ai??Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Ai??the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued a statement saying he would “never support” the chained CPI, which is the cornerstone of the Obama deal’s changes to Social Security. Hereai??i??s his full statement:

ai???Federal law has always prohibited Social Security from contributing to the deficit. Any talk of shrinking the program to ai???save moneyai??i?? is flawed from the start because Social Security is not part of the national budget in the same way as military spending ai??i?? itai??i??s paid for through a dedicated payroll tax separate from general budgeting.

ai???Some have suggested that Social Security benefits should be based on a chained Consumer Price Index (CPI), which assumes that when the price of one item rises, people buy something else ai??i?? no matter how popular or necessary that original item might be. If this change goes into effect, Social Security benefits would stop reflecting the rising prices of popular goods.

ai???The average Social Security recipient rakes in a whopping $13,000 a year. If we pass chained CPI, projected annual cuts for a typical retiree would be about $560 a year by age 75, $984 a year by age 85 and $1,400 a year by age 95.

ai???The less money our Social Security recipients ai??i?? including 9 million veterans ai??i?? are able to spend, the less money goes to the businesses that create jobs.Ai??Chained CPI makes life harder for millions of retirees, weakens Social Security and doesnai??i??t reduce the deficit by a penny. Itai??i??s a Beltway fig leaf that I will never support, and I call on my colleagues to make their feelings known as soon as possible before this becomes yet another piece …

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called ai???chained CPI.ai??? Today,Ai??Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Ai??issued a statement calling this an ai???irresponsibleai??? cut to the program and to benefits, and vowed to “oppose” any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. Here’s his full statement:

ai???Everyone has a grandparent, a friend or a neighbor who relies on the Social Security benefits they earned to pay for medical care, food and housing. A move towards chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) would be a long-term benefit cut for every single person who receives a Social Security check.

ai???The current average earned benefit for a 65 year old on Social Security is $17,134. Using chained CPI will result in a $6,000 loss for retirees in the first fifteen years of retirement and adds up to a $16,000 loss over twenty-five years. This change would be devastating to beneficiaries, especially widowed women, more than a third of whom rely on the program for 90% of their income and use every single dollar of the Social Security checks they’ve earned. This would require the most vulnerable Americans to dig further into their savings to fill the hole left by unnecessary and irresponsible cuts to Social Security.

ai???Reducing cost of living adjustments is a Social Security benefit cut. Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable and I will oppose it.ai???

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your …

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

President Obama has endorsed a plan to cut Social Security benefits through a so-called “chained CPI.” Today, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued a statement calling this an “irresponsible” cut to the program and to benefits, indicating that he stands against the deal:

ai???Everyone has a grandparent, a friend or a neighbor who relies on the Social Security benefits they earned to pay for medical care, food and housing. A move towards chained CPI would be a long-term benefit cut for every single person who receives a Social Security check.

ai???The current average earned benefit for a 65 year old on Social Security is $17,134. Using chained CPI will result in a $6,000 loss for retirees in the first fifteen years of retirement and adds up to a $16,000 loss over twenty-five years. This change would be devastating to beneficiaries, especially widowed women, more than a third of whom rely on the program for 90% of their income and use every single dollar of the Social Security checks they’ve earned. This would require the most vulnerable Americans to dig further into their savings to fill the hole left by unnecessary and irresponsible cuts to Social Security.

ai???I am committed to standing against any benefit cuts to programs Americans rely on and tying Social Security benefits to chained CPI is a benefit cut.”

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Click here to call your Member of Congress and demand that they oppose …